Have fun with the last of ten, people!

But beware, the end is near...

(Also, to the people who asked me to put the conected one-shots into one book: you all owe me for this; it took me a long time to come up with a summary and title (one that I'm still not too happy with, so any suggestions would be great!), and some of the editing...Rugh! Glad I did it, though. So...thanks.)

Reviews are greatly appreciated,so if you have the time and willingness to do so, I'd be eternally grateful. It's fine if you don't, though; I know the hardships of not wanting to write a review, so no pressure or anything. It's your time.

Chapter Summary:

Time had warned him of what was to come.

It's just...why did they have Lloyd do it?

/ /

Where Kai fights against Lloyd in the final battle and tries to tell him how the end is near...and how to save his father.

(And fails to mention the impending doom of-)

Resist

Kai resists the urge to help Lloyd instead of fight against him.

He's the Green Ninja. His best friend. His brother. He's the person he's supposed to protect.

But he hasn't been protecting him. At all. Really, they're on opposite sides of a feisty river, and whenever they try to cross the unstable bridge and meet up, hell ensues.

Death being the most common ending.

They've both died plenty of times (thank god Lloyd can't actually die). Sometimes from unfortunate events (like Mr. E deciding to impale Lloyd. And sometimes Kai; distrust is a killer). Sometimes by their own hand (Lloyd got that one off him; he should know that suicide isn't the correct option). Mostly from stupid mistakes (like crashing his vehicle and smashing his head into a brick wall. He 'awakened' flailing about from that).

It hurts, fighting who you're supposed to protect. But, in a sense, he's protecting all of Ninjago this way. He can't focus on one person – he must battle for the people, not a friend (though that is very much preferred), no matter how much it hurts.

He tells himself that as he stands on top of a building late in Loop 43 (damn Lloyd can put up a good fight), his katanas' tip notched into a crack in the concrete, allowing him to put his full weight on the hilt. His right shoulder aches, and he can feel the number glow in unison with his pumping heart.

His heart that is starting to thump like no tomorrow (and maybe there won't be one).

Loop 6 will be forever seared into his brain. How he walked with his brothers, getting some raised eyebrows at his continued mistakes that helped the enemy. How, when asked if anything was wrong, he smiled and lied right to their faces. How they looked when he defended the Quiet One as they were about to stop her from resurrecting Garmadon, stating that they had to let it happen. How, when Jay tried to tamper with them during the process, the Oni masks reacted and killed them all with a wave of dark matter.

He remembers how Lloyd reacted when he came back to him on the next loop, stating he couldn't be trusted and that he could be possessed, much like he himself once was.

He remembers running before they could catch him, then the loops blur together in one huge tornado of events (ones that he created – directly and indirectly).

Traps. Captures. Fights.

There's one particular loop, no. 22, that he remembers. It's the one where Lloyd realised he wasn't possessed, bitter or anything of the sort. It's the one where Lloyd thinks, if only for a moment, that he's doing this for his own desires; that he wants the world to succumb to darkness. It's the one where he tells Lloyd that he's trying to save Ninjago, and that he'll do anything to protect his friends – even if it means fighting against them. It's the one where they fight, and the one where they both realise this can only end in two ways.

Great success...or death. And considering death isn't an option for either of them, it seems outsmarting the other is the way to go.

Kai has a bad feeling, though. His stomach churns, because the last time his mark pulsed like this was when-

"You must be guarding something real special to be standing here like that." Jay remarks, and Kais' eyes snap to where the Lightning Ninja is standing with his friends (family), noting that their weapons are also drawn.

Kai smirks, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. "You're late," he remarks instead, not moving from his position, eyes drifting to the Green Ninja, whose face is set in a grim frown. "We've already started. I've just been waiting for you...like usual."

The Ninjas' hoods are up, but it doesn't stop them from seeing their eyes. They're all pained and sad but filled with determination – an unspoken promise. Like always.

Lloyd eyes him warily, silver katana by his side, the curved blade shining in the afternoon sun. Kai knows him well enough to know what he's going to do next. "Guys, go. I'll deal with Kai." He gives the Fire Ninja a pointed look, but he doesn't want to hear it.

He's not going to let them go just yet.

As Jay and Cole get ready to jump down, Kai calls for his fire and, in an explosion of his elemental power, holds his hands out, a wave of fire rising on all sides of the roofs' edge, reaching far into the sky. Jay yelps, jumping backwards, his blue ninja gi slightly singed. "Oh, you're not going anywhere."

Lloyd is the only one who doesn't take a step back at his true potential; the Green Ninja has done this before, after all. "Kai," he warns, "Don't make me do this."

He shakes his head, even as his heart wants to leap at the chance to get out of this mess. He must do this. Kai lets out a long breath, looking up at his best friend, eyes cloudy. "Sorry, Lloyd, but I have to do this."

Then Kai lifts his katana from its dormant position and, with Lloyd raising his own weapon in response, they race towards each other, the other Ninja also charging forward.

Kai and Lloyds' swords crash together with a 'clang', and the huge amount of fire and energy that is unleashed into the shared blow sends a massive shockwave hurtling outwards in all directions, sending the other Ninja flying backwards and off the rooftop, the wall of fire having been blown away by the great torrent of wind.

They both jump back and out of harm's way before they throw themselves at each other once again.

It's a defensive battle, though. Kai doesn't want to hurt Lloyd, and vice versa. But, even if they don't want to, they have to. On opposite sides, they have no choice.

"Please, Kai! Just stop this! We can work this out together!" Lloyd yells as they're locked together in a trial of strength, each trying to overpower the other with their weapons.

Kai shakes his head, eyes downcast. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. This is a path I must travel alone." He pushes a bit harder on his friends' blade, and Lloyd grunts, arms shaking.

Lloyd pushes back, determination filling his gaze. "I can't let you release my father. Not like this."

The Fire Ninja closes his eyes for a second, face screwed up with emotion. God, I don't want to do this either, Lloyd. But I have to. This is for all of Ninjago.

Kai opens his eyes, face calm, looking the Green Ninja in the eye. "Then stop me." He pushes his blade down as hard as he can, and just as Lloyd looks like he's about to lose, the ground rumbles, and both boys stumble apart, Kai immediately looking towards the source.

On the ground below them, the Ninja fight the Sons of Garmadon. However, in the middle of what used to be a park, the three Oni masks spin together under a large hole, the masks pulsing with dark energy.

He can see the Quiet One watching the fight, protecting the masks. Kai frowns darkly.

His mark pulses in response. Ghostly hands wrap around his shoulders, making his skin tingle. "You know what to do."

Kai nods. I do.

He turns to his friend. "Lloyd. Once your father rises, you need to quickly subdue him. All we need is for Garmadon to come back. If only for a moment." The Green Ninja gives him an odd look.

"What?"

Kai shakes his head, smirking. "I've always been on your side, Lloyd," he says, before raising his weapon once more. "Now fight me."

He's a distraction. He always has been. He's always been a pawn in this game. This time around, his role is to fight against his family. Sure, it sucks in every way imaginable, but it's all in the roll of the dice. This time, he needs to distract Lloyd long enough so his evil (who left so pure) father can rise and spread at least a little darkness into the land.

That's all they need. Just a tiny bit.

And Time contacting him like this...it proves what he's been thinking. He just wonders how it's all going to end.

Lloyd shakes his head, and Kai smirks, snorting. Alright. I'll start.

He charges at his friend, only to get thrown backwards by a burst of green energy, flying off the roof and into the ground before he can act accordingly, yelling as his back grinds against the stabbing rocks.

His shoulder aches and his back screams, but otherwise he's ok.

He gets up slowly, stumbling forward a few steps, grunting as fire unwelcomingly licks at his back, his red ninja gi more than likely shredded there (it definitely is; he can feel the blood running down his back). It's ok, he thinks. I've been through worse.

Lloyd jumps down in front of him, eyes full of concern, despite himself. "Are you ok?" His sword is down by his side, guard down, yet Kai can't bring himself to care.

Keep fighting!

And he does. Without replying, Kai charges at Lloyd, the Green Ninja barely bringing up his sword in time to block the otherwise devastating blow.

They're surrounded by other fighting members of the Sons of Garmadon, but Kai doesn't pay them any attention. He only pays attention to Lloyd, and damn, if one of the other Ninja came in now, he'd be screwed.

(The 'element of surprise' would be the end of him.)

They begin their dance yet again, dodging swipes and elemental powers alike.

Then the earth trembles, more forcefully this time, and Kai barely manages to keep himself upright as the ground splits open in many different directions, all originating from the Oni masks.

It's right beside him when it happens, and he dives to the right, saving himself from a terrible fall. Lloyd does the same, but others aren't so lucky.

A lot of the Sons of Garmadon members fell into the splitting earth, and Kai momentarily spots Cole in his prone form, his friend crouched as he tries to stop it from happening.

It's out of his control, though. The Oni masks are getting ready, and Kai can feel Time warning him of what's to come.

He needs to tell Lloyd. Now.

"Lloyd." He grunts out as he stands shakily, sword gripped firmly in his hands, Lloyd already up to oppose him. "It's almost time."

"For what?" He cries, but Kai doesn't answer. Instead, he attacks.

He sweeps low, and Lloyd jumps, using the momentum to backflip away from him, posing skilfully on the ground. He waits for the Green Ninja to come at him, shaking his head. "Don't you feel it? The tingling. The pressure on your mark." He jumps, trying to catch Lloyd off guard, but the sensei sees the move and sidesteps, narrowly dodging the downward swipe. The Green Ninja quickly strikes, but Kai dodges, the sudden movement sending knifes up his back.

Lloyd jumps at him as he winces in pain, and once again they're locked together, fighting for dominance. "I do, but...what does it mean, Kai?" Kai pushes harder, but Lloyd pushes back, the stalemate continuing. "Stop stalling, Kai! Answer me!"

The Fire Ninja grits his teeth. God, I hate this.

He feels a cold touch trail down his arm. He knows what to say.

"The end." He states ominously, pushing his blade downward just as another quake hits.

It happens fast. Kais' blade slips as the earthquake unbalances him, and Lloyd's sword skids off of his and rockets upward, slicing up his right cheek and stopping beside his right eye as he stumbles backwards, backflipping onto another larger, more stable piece of land, narrowly avoiding falling into the chasm.

Fire races up his face, and Kai quickly touches the new injury, his hand coming back bloody.

That's going to scar.

"Kai!" He hears Lloyd cry, jumping over to meet him, but the Fire Ninja doesn't care.

Stop fretting over me and fight!

He attacks, but this time, his friend anticipates it. The Green Ninja parries the blow, but Kai sees it coming and kicks him backwards, sparing a glance at the Oni Masks.

They're almost consumed in dark matter, pulsing black, but, while the Quiet One is trying to fend off Nya and Jay, Zane has snuck past her, about to grab one of the masks.

"No!" He cries, firing a fireball at Zane. The nindroid is too slow to react to the cheep blow, and is sent flying away from the masks, back smoking.

He doesn't have time to feel guilty. He doesn't have time to say why he stopped Zane. He doesn't have time to say sorry.

Because Lloyd is back, and he's not happy.

A flurry of fast attacks leaves Kai on complete defence, his friends' eyes sparking with a slight green glow. "How could you hurt your own brother? How could you do that willingly?" The Green Ninjas' attacks come faster, if possible. "I can't believe you!" He cries, and Kai narrowly avoids a beheading, realising that Lloyd isn't trying to disable him. No, he's trying to kill me. "I trusted you! I... I looked up to you!" His attacks are slow for a moment, before quickening once more. "But look where that got me!" Lloyd backflips away from him, before shooting a green burst of energy, Kai narrowly avoiding the precise shot.

Oh god, I need to stop him before he does something he's going to regret.

"Lloyd-" He doesn't get to finish, as Lloyd himself bares down on him, Kai barely getting his sword up in time to block the fatal blow, both coming to a standstill. "Lloyd, just listen-" The Green Ninja cuts him off, pushing harder on their locked blades.

"No! I'm not going to listen to you anymore, Kai! I'm done with your games! Why can't you just leave us alone?"

The sharp words hit him hard, and he loses his strength, the blade he'd been holding baring down on him. He manages to slip past, his sword smashing into the ground from Lloyds' force, but he doesn't miss the look on his brothers' face.

Oh s-

He brings his blade up just as Lloyd tries to slice into his side. However, from his sloppy block, his katana flies out of his hands and sticks into the ground ten meters away.

And, as the ground rumbles once again, Kai stumbles forward, leaving him unable to dodge Lloyds' devastating blow.

Lloyd didn't mean to do it. He'd been mid stab, having twirled around as Kai lost his weapon. He'd been lost in anger, shocked that he'd willingly hurt a friend.

But, unbeknownst to him, Kai had saved Zane and all the others from a dark outburst that would have killed them all – Lloyd should have known that, but when it'd first happened, he hadn't seen how they'd died; he'd been too busy fighting the Quiet One to see what really happened.

He understands why he was angry. He understands why he let himself go. He understands why rage had clouded his judgement.

The only thing he doesn't understand is why Time had Lloyd do it. He'd been waiting for this moment throughout the battle. He'd accepted what had to happen.

It didn't mean he couldn't hate Time for making Lloyd be the one to kill him.

He gasps as the curved blade tears into his red ninja gi and through his stomach quickly, the blade moving way past his body, leaving the hilt to slam into his stomach. His body, which had lurched forward at the sickening impact, is left stumbling backwards as the sword is quickly ripped out of his body, the terrible fire hitting him like a ton of bricks. Kai sees Lloyds' face throughout the terrible process, and he hates it as he watches his face morph from fury, to shock, then horror.

"Oh...oh god, Kai!" The ground shakes, yet they stand unaffected. Lloyds' rooted to the ground, and Kai is still standing out of sheer willpower.

Because this is the end. And he can't just leave Lloyd like this. He has to tell him how to save his father, because he made sure he knew how to save Garmadon at the start of this loop, just in case it all went wrong (when it all went right).

"Lloyd," he gasps out, legs shaking as another burst of fire made black spots appear through his vision. "You can...save your dad. Use your power. I... I know you can...do it." He lets out a few gasps, a familiar metallic taste filling his mouth.

Lloyd stands there, and Kai feels like he's standing in front of him, hand on his shoulder, and he knows Time is letting him have a minute of freedom – one minute to reassure his brother.

He knows because time stands still around them, and he can see that they're outside their own bodies, which are behind them. It feels good. The agony is gone, and he has a chance to say what he needs to say. For himself, and for Lloyd.

"Lloyd." He starts, and the Green Ninja stares at him, eyes glistening. "You're my best friend, and I... I want to say how much I care about you. About all of you. You're my family, and..." He looks down, grimacing. "I'm so sorry that I had to turn on you. If we hadn't let your father awaken, the amount of light in the world would have destroyed us all, and I couldn't let that happen." Kai looks up, only to find tears running down the Lloyds' face. "I couldn't involve you. I... I couldn't have you help the enemy. Not when I wanted the Sons of Garmadon to fail at this exact point." He puts a hand on Lloyds' shoulder then, who's openly sobbing. "This isn't your fault, Lloyd. This was meant to happen. I'm supposed to die, and I'm ok with that."

Lloyd steps away from him then, tears still rolling down his face like a waterfall. "No, we still need you here! I... I need you here, Kai!" He wraps his spiritual arms around Kai, sobs wracking his leaner frame. "I'm not going to let you die!"

Kai feels a pang of sadness hit him, vision blurry. "I know, but...you have to. It's my time to go."

Lloyd pulls back, looking up at him, mouth wobbling. "Think about Nya! She'll be devastated! Think about your parents! They just got you back! How do you think they're going to feel when you don't come home? And what about Cole and Jay and Zane? You know them! Cole's going to isolate himself from everyone! Zane's gonna get sad and try and ease the mood and make it worse and Jay... do you really think Nya and Jay will stay together? Jay will infuse himself in his experiments and Nya will probably break up with him because she'll be absorbed in her grief! And...and think about me! I... I don't know what I'll do without you..."

Kai looks away when he says that. Like Zane, he'd be a gap in the team. But...they'll pull through it. I just know it.

"It won't happen like that. Sure, you'll all be sad for a while. I know it first hand, but I know you'll push past it. I know, because you'll be there. You'll be the one who heals the team. You'll help them all through their grief, even when you're in the midst of yours, and I know because you're you, Lloyd. You'll set the team straight. You did that with Sensei." The words hurt, if only for a moment. "And, if you ever falter, just know that your father will be there to help you... that, and," Kai places a hand on Lloyds' chest, "know that I'll still be with you in here."

Kai feels time ripple around them, and he clutches his stomach as the searing fire bursts through him for only a moment, but it's all he needs to know the warning.

Wrap it up.

Kai puts his clammy hands on Lloyds' shoulders, smiling warmly. "Tell everyone that I love them."

Lloyds' lip wobbles as he nods, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I will." He whispers, and that's all it takes for time to snap back into place, Kai getting pulled back into his mortally wounded body.

Fire races through him, and he stumbles back at the sudden agony, gasping as his foot lands on the edge of the land, falling backwards.

He hears multiple cries of his name as he falls through the gap in the earth.

And, as he plummets into darkness, the dim glow of his mark fades away.

And that's it! Well, not necessarily.

I've had multiple people say yes to my question for a series cataloging everything Kai went through, and I'm tempted to do it. I've even finished the prologue to the first book and started on the first! If I make it to the end, I'll definitely do a story that talks about what happened a few years after Kai fell. What I have planned for that...well, you'll like it, I'm sure.

So, while the series will probably happen, I've got to finish my other two stories first. Just a bit of determination is all I need for this to go right ahead. That, and have the stomach to watch every Ninjago episode, 0-8. Happy days...?

Welp, my funeral ;)

If any of you have any requests (like doing a little something in Lloyd's POV (which I'm also tempted to do) based on this very AU) then please ask, and I'll consider it. To any Zane lovers, I'm sorry for not showcasing him much in this; having Kai hit him was a way for me to incorporate him into this. Hope I did okay...

If anyone want's anymore information, check out my profile. It'll be updated soon. If that doesn't answer any questions, then please, PM me.

Well, I'm just gonna shut up and leave before I talk about anything else. Have a nice day, everyone!